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Euchre Rule Sheet

- Most commonly, the deck is 24 cards, consisting of the 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A from all 4 suits.

- Variations: 32-card deck that adds the 7 and 8 or each suit; British Euchre that uses the 24-card deck plus the Joker

Goal

- To become the first pair to score at least 10 points.

Setup

- Partners should be seated opposite one another.

- A dealer is chosen at random.

- Players are each dealt 5 cards.

- The remaining 4 cards are placed, face down, in the middle of the table.

- Dealer turns the top card face up, and this is the card that sets the trump suit.

Card Values

- Aces are generally the most valuable, and 9s are the least valuable.

- Two exceptions: the Jack of the trump suit is known as the “right bower” and is the most valuable card; the other Jack of the same color is known as the “left bower” and is the second most valuable card

- A trump suit will contain both bowers.

First Bidding Round

Players bid, starting from the left of the dealer and continuing clockwise, on whether or not they want to use the face-up card’s suit as trump.

- Player to the dealer’s left may pass or state “I order it up.” If he orders up, no other player can bid.

- If the first player passes, the dealer’s partner can pass or say “I assist.” If he assists, no other player can bid.

- If both players pass, the next player can pass or say “I order it up.” If he orders up, no other player can bid.

- If three players pass, it’s the dealer’s turn. He can pass or say “I accept.” If he accepts, he must take the face-up card and replace it with a card from his current hand.

- If all players pass, the bidding continues.

Second Bidding Round

- The face-up card is turned face-down and bidding starts again.

- The first player who names a suit has chosen trump.

- If no one bids, all of the cards are shuffled together again, and the next player deals a new hand.

- The partners that choose the trump are known as the “makers.” The other partners are the “defenders.”

Going Alone

- If a player believes they have an outstanding hand, they can choose to “go alone.”

- Their partner folds their hand (placing them face-down on the table) and leave the game for a round.

- Anyone may announce that they're going alone after trump is selected but before the first card is led.

Gameplay

- The player to the left of the dealer leads first by playing any card from his hand.

- Players must play the suit of the card led, if possible. If not, they can play any card in their hand.

- The highest card played in the lead suit wins the trick, unless one or more trumps were played, in which case the highest trump card wins the trick.

- The player who wins the trick leads in the next trick.

Scoring

- If all 4 players take part in a hand, the makers score 1 point for taking 3 tricks. They score a bonus point (2 total) for taking all 5 tricks.

- If the makers fail to take 3 tricks, they are "euchred" and the defenders are awarded 2 points.

- If a maker goes alone and wins all 5 tricks, his partnership scores 4 points. If he wins 3 or 4 tricks, his partnership is awarded only 1 point.

- If a defender goes alone and wins 3 or 4 tricks, his partnership is awarded 2 points. If he wins all 5 tricks, his partnership is awarded 4 points.